El fricasé de gallina criolla, ode pollo, a la cubana
- 1 chicken or 1 medium-sized Creole hen
2 onions
1 sprig of parsley
1 sprig of basil
1 ginger root
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
5 to 10 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 tablespoon of saffron (or other typically Cuban food pigments such as bijol or turmeric) for the chicken, or 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce and a drizzle of soy sauce for the chicken.
1 beer and/or scalding wine
1/4 kg of potatoes (if available)
3 tablespoons of lard
1 tablespoon wheat flour or corn starch (optional)
A few olives (optional)
Sweet corn (optional)
Creole hen fricassee, or chicken, Cuban style.
French and European emigration had spread the dish and the term throughout America, and sometimes the term fricassee was then used to designate foreign dishes, with no apparent origin or connection, to the French preparation. Just as blood and skins mixed, seasonings integrated in Cuba, where everything merged in an inevitable marriage of old cultures for the gestation of a new one. Cuban cuisine necessarily drew on foreign elements, but the result was recognized as indigenous.
Here we present the Cuban way of preparing chicken or hen fricassee.
When in Cuba you want to make a good fricassee, it is made from Creole chicken because of its consistency and a more defined flavor than that of its little brother, chicken.
The dish is more common on the tables of farmers, who in many cases have farmed chickens in their own yards. Fricassee tends to motivate joy, especially on Sunday, a day when families are usually reunited in Cuba.
Elaboration:
After washing and draining the hen, it must be cut into small pieces and put on the fire in a saucepan with the fat, the cut onions, the finely chopped basil and parsley, as well as the crushed garlic and ginger, to make brown.
Then add the saffron (or Cuban equivalents) if it is chicken, pepper, salt and a little vinegar, cover it and cook over low heat, stirring from time to time.
If it was chicken, don't forget to substitute the food pigments for the tomato and soy sauces.
Ideally, you should add half a beer, half a cup of water and the rest of the vinegar to continue cooking.
Once the cooking is advanced, add the peeled and chopped potatoes, and the olives if you like them, with half a cup of cooking wine.
When the potatoes begin to soften, add the flour dissolved in the broth to thicken the sauce, only if necessary keep it on the heat until the potatoes are ready.
You can naturally replace the potatoes with taro or green plantains.
The most popular toppings to accompany the dish are white rice, black beans and malanga fritters. This root must have been grated until you obtain a pulp which must be mixed with two crushed garlic cloves, a beaten egg, salt and chopped parsley. See recipe for frituras de malanga.
Then fry this dough by tablespoonfuls, in hot oil, let them brown well and remove them onto absorbent paper, from where they can go directly to the table to accompany our fricassee, and disappear immediately afterwards as by magic.
